BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese health authorities are
investigating the deaths of seven infants following inoculation
with a hepatitis B vaccine, state media reported on Monday.

China has been beset by a series of product safety scandals
over the past few years.

At least six children died in 2008 after drinking milk
contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine, and there have
also been reports of children dying or becoming seriously ill
from faulty encephalitis, hepatitis B and rabies vaccines.

State news agency Xinhua said that of the seven deaths from
the hepatitis B vaccine in the latest case, four were in the
southern province of Guangdong. The other cases were in the
provinces of Hunan and Sichuan.

The official China Daily said that all hospitals using the
vaccine, made by Shenzhen-based BioKangtai, had been ordered to
take it off their shelves while the Health Ministry investigates
the company's products and the deaths.

The company said in a statement carried by state media that
it rigorously followed safety rules but that they were testing
the batches suspected of causing the deaths.

The topic has been widely discussed on China's popular
Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo, with many people
worried about the safety of China's vaccines and calling on the
government to make more information public.

"Why was this allowed onto the market? The government needs
to come clean about this," wrote one Weibo user.

Many Chinese people are suspicious that the government tries
to cover up bad news about health problems, despite assurances
of transparency. In 2003, the government initially tried to
cover-up the outbreak of the SARS virus.